Built in the early ninth century and later renovated in Romanesque style, the small church of Sant’Elena has a large archaeological excavation in the centre, displaying the foundations of an apse and fragments of floor mosaics. These are the remains of an early Christian basilica dating back to the fourth century AD, considered the oldest episcopal church in Verona.
At the time of Saint Zeno, the eighth bishop and patron saint of the city, it was too small to accommodate the large number of worshippers who flocked there. For this reason, a century later, a second, larger church was built, partly overlapping the first. The foundations and floor of this second basilica, which was used until the seventh or eighth century, are visible under the pews, towards the counter-facade of Sant’Elena and in the Canonici cloister, a structure outside this building, which you can visit at the end of your tour.
